Warp-knit slide-fastener stringer

ABSTRACT

A slide-fastener stringer comprises a pair of warp-knit tapes having confronting edges carrying respective coupling elements. Each tape consists of a knit foundation formed by a plurality of transversely offset longitudinally extending warp chains joined together transversely by a plurality of laid-in weft filaments. The guide bars for the warp chains can move in a 0-1/1-0 or 20/0-2 pattern, or a pair of warp chains with these patterns can be knit. The guide bars for the weft filaments move in a 4-4/0-0 pattern, laying these filaments into each course. The knit is thermofixed and formed with holes along the edges for accommodating the stitching securing the coupling elements. Heavy crimped or textured bulk yarn is used as weft filament.

United States Patent 11 1 Friilich et a1.

1111 3,708,836 1 1 Jan.9,1973

1541 WARP-KNIT SLIDE-FASTENER STRINGER [751 Inventors: Alfons Friilich; Mari'e Luise Cappel,

, both of Essen; Ernst Stubiger, Giessen, all of Germany [73] Assigneet Opti-l-Ioldirig A.G., Glarus, Switzerland 22 Filed: Oct. 20, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 82,327

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data April 4, 1970 Germany.....-... ..P 20 16 141.5

[52] US. Cl. ..24/205.1 C, 24/205.l6 C, 112/265, I 66/195 [51] Int. Cl. ..A44b 19/40 [58] Field of Search ...24/205.16, 205.16 C, 205.1 C, 241205.13 C, 205.1 CW; 112/265,105, 263,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,433,279 12/1947 Johnson .l ..66/l95 2,405,902 8/1946 Pouy ..24/205.16

2,652,705 9/1953 Weinberg ..24/205.l6

Johns ..24/205. 1 6

2,903,775 9/1959 2,959,837 11 1900 Jette ..2/275 3,444,598 5/19 9 Glindmeyer.... ..24/205.16 3,570,482 3/1971 Emoto ..66/l93 FORElGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 713,257 7/1965 Canada ..24/205.13c

Primary Examiner-Bernard A. G elak Attorney-Karl F. Ross [57] ABSTRACT A slide-fastener stringer comprises a pair of warp-knit tapes having confronting edges carrying respective coupling elements. Each tape consists of a knit foundation formed by a plurality of transversely offset longitudinally' extending warp chains joinedtogether transversely by a plurality of laid-in weft filaments.

'The guide bars for the warp chains can move in a 0- ll l-O or 2-0/0-2 pattern, or a pair of warp chains with these patterns can be knit. The guide bars for the weft filaments move in a 4-4/0-0 pattern, laying these filaments into each course. The knit is thermofixed and formed with holes along the edges for accommodating the stitching securing the coupling elements. l-leavy crimped or textured bulk yarn is used as weft filament.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAH 9l973 3,708,836

SHEET 1 [IF 3 FIG.

ATTORNEY PATENTEDm 9191s SHEET 2 BF 3 4h liq r 7 v r INVEN'TORS, FROHLICH BY M. L. CAEPEL E. STUBIGER R ATTORNEY 1 WARE-KNIT SLIDE-FASTENER sTRINcER FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a slide-fastener stringer for a slide fastener having a coil-type coupling element.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Such a stringer usually is formed by a pair of woven tapes carrying on their confronting edges the coupling coils; the latter are usually made of a monofilament tape to another or from one portion of the same tape to OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved slide-fastener stringer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a stringer of the character described which is less expensive to manufacture than the conventional strings described. Yet anotherobject is the provision of astrin'g er tape 'to'whi'ch a coupling element can be attached with no detrimental effects. I

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above objects are obtained by a slide-fastener stringer constituted by a pair of warp-knit support tapes each formed by a plurality of transversely offset longitudinally extending warp chains (wales) and'laid-in weft threads interconnecting the chainsto form a warpknit foundation.

The features of a warp-knit tape are highly advantageous to the system of the present invention. It is a rigid relatively nonelastic knit, clearly distinct from the elastic weft knits. Furthermore, it is cheap and easy to produce in the form of a narrow tape. A

According to further features of this invention, the guide bars for the warp chains move in a O-l/l-O or 2- 0/O-2 pattern, or two warp chains with thesepatterns can be provided in the foundation. The weft filament, advantageously a bulk, heavy crimped or textured yarn, is laid in with a 0-0/4-4 pattern.

According to another feature of the present invention, the tapes are thermofixed for added rigidity, thereby thermally fusing the threads of the knit loops and the weft together and, if desired, to the coupling element.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent in the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a detail view of a slide-fastener stringer according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows the combined notation fora second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3A shows the notation for the guide bars I knitting the tapes of FIG. 2; and

. FIG. 3B shows the threading of the needles for the tapes of FIG. 2.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION To fully appreciate the nature of the knits, it is neces- Y sary to understand the notation of FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B.

FIG. 2 represents standard tricot point paper notation wherein each dot represents a needle. The vertical rows of dots symbolize the wales and the horizontal rows symbolize the courses. The lines passing around the dots represent the paths of the guides during knitting and, therefore, the pattern of the yarns carried by these guides. FIGQ3A shows the paths of the individual guides, and FIG. 3B shows which of the guides are threaded for each row of needles.

Thus, for the knits of interest here two types will be seen. The guide bar can move from one space to another during each knitting cycle, i.e., the formation of each course, and then move back during the next raising and lowering of the needles. For example, the figure notation for a guide which moves from space 0 to space 1 during one knitting cycle then back from space I to space 0 during the next cycle is O-l/l-O, with the slash mark (I) separating the two cycles. Of course the notation 5-6/6-5 or 13-14/14-13 would represent the same guide movement further along on the guide bar.

The other type of guide movement of interest here is that of laying-in. In this case the guides do not move in frontof the needles (overlay) but merelyshop back and forth behind the needle hooks between cycles. The notation here is similar, so that 4-4/0-0 is the figure notation for a guide which, as the needles move up and down for one course, stands in space 4, and then moves to space 0 where it remains as the next course is knit. In other words the first two digits signify thetwo positions between which the guide reciprocates during one knitting cycle and the second two digits indicate the end positions for the next cycle. Since for laying-in the guides do not move during the knitting cycles, but between them, these numbers remain the same-to each side of the slash mark.

For a more detailed discussion of the above forms of notation reference can be made to the book Advanced Knitting Principles edited by Charles Reichman'(National Knitted Outerwear Association: 1964), chapters 26 and 30.

A pair of slide-fastener support tapes 1 produced on the same Raschel knitting machine are shown in FIG. 1. Each tape 1 carries a coupling coil 3 secured by stitching 2. A filler cord 10 passing longitudinally through each coil 3 is pierced by the stitching to hold the coils 3 in place on the confronting tape edges. The coils may optionally be lodged in loops or openings formed in the tape.

Each tape 1 is further formed by warp filaments 4 (solid lines) defining warp chains or wales 8 separated by troughs or grooves 9 and by weft filaments 5 (dashed lines) underlapping the filaments 4. The warp filaments are chained in a O-l l-O pattern, Whereas the weft filaments 5 are simply laid in with a 4-4/0-0 pattern.

The confronting edges of the tapes 1 are joined by a connecting yarn 7 (dot-dash line) which is also laid into the knit, but with a 2-2/0-0 pattern.

.In FIGS. 3A, and 38 we show the operation of four guide bars used to make a modified knit illustrated in FIG. 2, with the two front guide bars knitting in opposed sensesand both back guide bars laying in. More specifically, the first guide bar lays in the yarn 5 with the above-mentioned 4-4 /0-0 pattern. This guide bar is not fully set but only has eighteen of its 24 guides threaded, with the lOth, 11th, and 12th, and 22nd,,

23rd, and 24th guides empty. The second guide bar only carries two threads 7, in its 12th and, for reasons set forth below, 24th guides, which it lays in with a 2- 2/0-0 pattern. The third guide bar knits a thread 6 in a 2-0/0-2 pattern forming open laps and has its twelfth and 24th guides empty. The fourth guide bar is fully set and forms open laps with the yarn 4'in the above-given -1/1 -0 pattern.

A four-guide-bar machine knitting as described immediately above produces two warp-knit bands which are extremely rigid and nonelastic. These two bands or tapes are longitudinally interconnected by a single thread which, upon removal, after. attachment of the coils 3, leaves two selvedged tapes, since none of the guides'except for the two of guide bar 2 are threaded where their yarns would bridge the gap between the 12th and 13th wale,"or would extend beyond the 24th wale. I

In FIGS. 2 and 3B heavy lines signify that those threads are of larger diameter than the other threads. Thus, all of the laid-in yarns and 7 are of heavy count, and the knitted threads 4 adjacent the tape edges are also thickened to form a heavy selvedge'. In this manner, even though not as many threads are present in the very edge wales since not all the guides are fully set, these edges are of the same thickness as the centers of the tapes.

As mentioned above, the 24th guide of the second guide bar is threaded. Such is the case when more than two tapes 1 are knitted simultaneously. Indeed,it is advantageous to produce four-or more tapessimultaneously, which can be subsequently subdivided into pairs if desired.-

The laid-in yarns 5 are relatively voluminous; they-can be synthetic-resin mu'ltifilament yarns or, if such yarns are not voluminous (bulky) enough, textured synthetic resin multifilament ormonofilament yarns which have been passed through a crimping machine. The knit producedthereby is closed but light, and theeveritual stitching of the tapes to a garment will not cause it to buckle. The stitching 2 for the coupling elements 3 advantageously passes through the holes 11 to prevent this stitching 2 from bucklin the tapes 1.

The tapes 1 are further s abilized by a thermofixmg process. They are heated after formation to a temperature sufficient to slightly soften the yarns and give them a set or fuse contacting portions together and/or to the nylon or polyester coupling element.

We claim:

l. A slide-fastener stringer comprising:

a pair of elongated warp-knit thermally-fixed-heatresistant support tapes having confronting longitudinal edges, each tape constituted of a plu'rality of transversely offset longitudinally extending warp chains of warp loops and laid-in weft filaments transversely connecting said chains and traversing said loops to form a warp-knit foundation; and respective elongated continuous coupling elements interconnectable upon movement of a slider therealong and lying along said edges while being stitched thereto by stitch loops passing around turns of the coupling elements and through said support tapes between warp chains thereof.

2. The stringer defined in claim 1 wherein-said weft filament is laid in in a 4-4/0-0 pattern.

3. The stringer defined in claiml wherein said warp filament is chained in a 0- l/l-O pattern.

4. The stringer defined'in claim 1 wherein said warp filament is chained in a 2-0/0-2 pattern.

5. The stringer defined in claim 1 wherein a pair of 7. The stringer defined in claim I wherein said weft filament is a bulk yarn.

8. The stringer defined in claim-7 wherein the weftfilament yarn is textured. 

1. A slide-fastener stringer comprising: a pair of elongated warp-knit thermally-fixed-heat-resistant support tapes having confronting longitudinal edges, each tape constituted of a plurality of transversely offset longitudinally extending warp chains of warp loops and laid-in weft filaments transversely connecting said chains and traversing said loops to form a warp-knit foundation; and respective elongated continuous coupling elEments interconnectable upon movement of a slider therealong and lying along said edges while being stitched thereto by stitch loops passing around turns of the coupling elements and through said support tapes between warp chains thereof.
 2. The stringer defined in claim 1 wherein said weft filament is laid in in a 4-4/0-0 pattern.
 3. The stringer defined in claim 1 wherein said warp filament is chained in a 0-1/1-0 pattern.
 4. The stringer defined in claim 1 wherein said warp filament is chained in a 2-0/0-2 pattern.
 5. The stringer defined in claim 1 wherein a pair of such warp filaments are provided, one of said filaments being chained in a 0-1/1-0 pattern and the other of said filaments in a 2-0/0-2 pattern.
 6. The stringer defined in claim 1 wherein said tapes are formed with stitching holes for attachment of said coupling elements.
 7. The stringer defined in claim 1 wherein said weft filament is a bulk yarn.
 8. The stringer defined in claim 7 wherein the weft-filament yarn is textured. 